Cote d'Ivoire Population: 23,740,424

Close ties to France following independence in 1960, the development of cocoa production for export, and foreign investment all made Cote d'Ivoire one of the most prosperous of the West African states but did not protect it from political turmoil. In December 1999, a military coup - the first ever in Cote d'Ivoire's history - overthrew the government. Junta leader Robert GUEI blatantly rigged elections held in late 2000 and declared himself the winner. Popular protest forced him to step aside and an election brought Laurent GBAGBO into power. Ivoirian dissidents and disaffected members of the military launched a failed coup attempt in September 2002 that developed into a rebellion and then a civil war. In 2003, a cease-fire resulted in the country being divided with the rebels holding the north, the government the south, and peacekeeping forces a buffer zone between the two. In March 2007, President GBAGBO and former New Forces rebel leader Guillaume SORO signed an agreement in which SORO joined GBAGBO's government as prime minister and the two agreed to reunite the country by dismantling the buffer zone, integrating rebel forces into the national armed forces, and holding elections. Difficulties in preparing electoral registers delayed balloting until 2010. In November 2010, Alassane Dramane OUATTARA won the presidential election over GBAGBO, but GBAGBO refused to hand over power, resulting in a five-month resumption of violent conflict. In April 2011, after widespread fighting, GBAGBO was formally forced from office by armed OUATTARA supporters with the help of UN and French forces. The UN peacekeeping mission is drawing down and is scheduled to depart in June 2017. OUATTARA is focused on rebuilding the country's economy and infrastructure while rebuilding the security forces. GBAGBO is in The Hague on trial for crimes against humanity.

23,740,424 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)

conventional long form: Republic of Cote d'Ivoire conventional short form: Cote d'Ivoire local long form: Republique de Cote d'Ivoire local short form: Cote d'Ivoire note: pronounced coat-div-whar former: Ivory Coast etymology: name reflects the intense ivory trade that took place in the region from the 15th to 17th centuries

Government type:

presidential republic

Capital:

name: Yamoussoukro; note - although Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983, Abidjan remains the commercial and administrative center; the US, like other countries, maintains its Embassy in Abidjan geographic coordinates: 6 49 N, 5 16 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (no term limits); election last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held in 2020); prime minister appointed by the president

description: unicameral Parliament consists of the National Assembly (255 seats; members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms); note - the new constitution of November 2016 calls for a bicameral legislature with the addition of a Senate

elections: last held on 11 December 2011 (next to be held on 18 December 2016)

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (organized into Judicial, Audit, Constitutional, and Administrative Chambers; consists of the court president, 3 vice-presidents for the Judicial, Audit, and Administrative chambers, and 9 associate justices or magistrates) judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the Superior Council of the Magistrature, a 7-member body consisting of the national president (chairman), 3 "bench" judges, and 3 public prosecutors; judges appointed for life

Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire or PDCI [Henri Konan BEDIE] Ivorian Popular Front or FPI [Pascal AFFIN'GUISSAN] Liberty and Democracy for the Republic or LIDER [Mamadou KOULIBALY] Movement of the Future Forces or MFA [Innocent Augustin ANAKY KOBENA] Rally of the Republicans or RDR [Alassane Dramane OUATTARA] Union for Cote d'Ivoire or UPCI [Gnamien KONA] Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire or UDPCI [Albert Toikeuse MABRI] more than 144 smaller registered parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Federation of University and High School Students of Cote d'Ivoire or FESCI [Augustin MIAN] National Congress for the Resistance and Democracy or CNRD [Bernard DADIE] Panafrican Congress for Justice and Peoples Equality or COJEP [Roselin BLY]

Cote d'Ivoire is heavily dependent on agriculture and related activities, which engage roughly two-thirds of the population. Cote d'Ivoire is the world's largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans and a significant producer and exporter of coffee and palm oil. Consequently, the economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international prices for these products and in climatic conditions. Cocoa, oil, and coffee are the country's top export revenue earners, but the country is also mining gold. Following the end of more than a decade of civil conflict in 2011, Cote d’Ivoire has experienced a boom in foreign investment and economic growth. In June 2012, the IMF and the World Bank announced $4.4 billion in debt relief for Cote d'Ivoire under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative.

general assessment: well-developed by African standards; telecommunications sector privatized in late 1990s and operational fixed lines have increased since that time with two fixed-line providers operating over open-wire lines, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optics; 90% d

domestic: with multiple mobile-cellular service providers competing in the market, usage has increased sharply to well over 105 per 100 persons

2 state-owned TV stations; no private terrestrial TV stations, but satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned radio stations; some private radio stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are available (2007)

18-25 years of age for compulsory and voluntary male and female military service; conscription is not enforced; voluntary recruitment of former rebels into the new national army is restricted to ages 22-29 (2012)

IDPs: 308,272 (post-election conflict in 2010-2011, as well as civil war from 2002-2004; most pronounced in western and southwestern regions) (2015) stateless persons: 700,000 (2015); note - many Ivoirians lack documentation proving their nationality, which prevent them from accessing education and healthcare; birth on Ivorian soil does not automatically result in citizenship; disputes over citizenship and the associated rights of the large population descended from migrants from neighboring countries is an ongoing source of tension and contributed to the country's 2002 civil war; some observers believe the government's mass naturalizations of thousands of people over the last couple of years is intended to boost its electoral support base; the government in October 2013 acceded to international conventions on statelessness and in August 2013 reformed its nationality law, key steps to clarify the nationality of thousands of residents; since the adoption of the Abidjan Declaration to eradicate stateless in West Africa in February 2015, 6,400 people have received nationality papers

Illicit drugs:

illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for local consumption; utility as a narcotic transshipment point to Europe reduced by ongoing political instability; while rampant corruption and inadequate supervision leave the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, the lack of a developed financial system limits the country's utility as a major money-laundering center (2008)